Pathway to ConfederationCharlottetown Conference

Charlottetown Conference

• The colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were considering uniting under a central government

• They agreed to meet in Charlottetown to discuss a Maritime union

• Newfoundland was thought not to be interested in the union, so they were not invited to attend

Charlottetown Conference

• The United Province of Canada (Canada East and West) heard about the meeting and asked to join the conference

• They hoped to convince the Atlantic colonies to join with them in an even larger union

• The official representative of Great Britain, Governor General Lord Monck, had to approve the meeting

Charlottetown Conference

• The meeting took place on September 1, 1864• Eight representatives from the United Province of Canada

attended, and John A. MacDonald and George Etienne-Cartier acted as leaders

• All representatives from the United Province of Canada argued that the Maritime union should become a British North American union

Charlottetown Conference

• The representatives from the Atlantic colonies had mixed feelings about Confederation

• The representatives from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick wanted to discuss Confederation, but were divided

• Representatives from Prince Edward Island were opposed

Charlottetown Conference

• The United Province of Canada promised that a new railway would be built joining Canada and the Atlantic colonies if a union was agreed upon

• The conference ended with an agreement to consider a larger union, and another meeting would be held in a month in Quebec to work out the terms